Democrats Take Charge, Face Tough Road

Now That They Will Control Both Houses, Democratic Party Has The Burden Of Delivering On Promises

(CBS/AP)  The anti-GOP wave that upended Congress rewarded Democrats with new opportunities to help set the national agenda — and burdened them with the task of delivering on voters expectations.

"Time for a change," Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, who likely will become the new Senate Majority Leader next year, said Thursday at a victory rally outside the Capitol. "This country has spoken loudly and clearly."

Between their promise to increase the minimum wage and their vow to seek a new direction in Iraq lies the difference over what is achievable and what might fall beyond their reach.

"Simply having the title of majority is not enough," said Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democratic leader in the Senate. "It's a long litany of challenges before us."

Reid and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the would-be Speaker of the House, savored their victories on Wednesday but struck conciliatory tones, promising to work in a bipartisan way with congressional Republicans and the president.

"This is not a juggernaut just slicing through town," Reid said.

Pelosi and President Bush have had a contentious relationship. However, though strained smiles, they tried to get the message out that they were prepared to work together after a luncheon meeting at the White House on Thursday, reports CBS News chief White House correspondent Jim Axelrod.

"We won't agree on every issue, but we do agree that we love America equally, that we're concerned about the future of this country," Mr. Bush said.

Democrats won the slim 51-49 majority in the Senate with the victory of Democrat Jim Webb over Republican Sen. George Allen in a hard-fought Senate race in Virginia. Allen was told by his advisers that the numbers just weren't there and a recount — which could have dragged things out for weeks — wouldn't help him, CBS News Radio correspondent Bob Fuss reports. Allen conceded on Thursday.

With some races too close to call, Democrats held 230 seats in the House, 10 more than a bare majority. They appeared to be in line to win two more.

For Democrats, winning control of both chambers of Congress raises the stakes.

Besides hiking the minimum wage, they want to act quickly on legislation to enact recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, to reduce dependence on foreign oil, to expand stem cell research and to reduce the price of drugs offered through Medicare. All those pose potential legislative challenges, but none more than the Democrats' pledge to seek a new direction in the war in Iraq.

Surveys of voters conducted on Election Day showed that almost three out of five disapproved of the war and were more inclined to vote for the Democratic candidate. Only a third of voters said the war had improved the long-term security of the United States.

Still, the strategic course of the war is set by the president. Congress has little leverage to force the president to change course. Mr. Bush sent Congress a signal on Wednesday when he announced he would replace Secretary of State Donald H. Rumsfeld. The change, Mr. Bush said, would provide a "fresh perspective" on the war.

Recognizing Congress' limitation, Pelosi said that when it comes to Iraq, "it's not about the Democrats in Congress forcing the president's hand."

The first test on the war for Democrats could come next year when Mr. Bush sends Congress a spending bill to pay for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Democrats have said they will not hold war appropriations hostage in exchange for policy changes. Instead, they are hoping Mr. Bush will heed the results of the election and the upcoming recommendations of a bipartisan Iraq study group led by former Secretary of State James Baker.

"The president is the president of the United States," she said. "I hope that he will listen to the voices of the people and, again, putting aside partisanship and looking to a partnership to end this war."

Even with a majority, Democrats can't count on passing everything they want, reports CBS News correspondent Sharyl Atkisson. As a minority, Republicans can always filibuster in the Senate, and the President still has his veto pen.

Democrats in the House would be unable to override a presidential veto on their own, and it only takes 41 senators to filibuster legislation.

"The minority, as long as it has more than 41 people together, can have a great deal of impact on whether something passes at all, or, if it passes, what form it takes," said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who's in line to become the new Senate Republican leader.

Some Republicans cautioned against an obstructionist approach.

"If we do that, shame on us," said Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio. "If the Democrats do what I would do if I were them and reach out with a list of things to do, and if we're depicted as standing on the outside trying to prevent that from happening, it would be terrible for the country. And it's stupid politics."

Democrats already were offering to cooperate when the House and Senate reconvene under Republican control next week for a post-election session. The agenda includes unfinished business on legislation ranging from offshore drilling to a nuclear agreement with India to tax incentives for the production of alternative energy.

Also unfinished, however, are 10 spending bills needed to keep the government operating. Officials said it was possible lawmakers would simply leave final action on those bills to the new Congress. That would saddle Democrats with the task of tidying up the past when they would rather be looking to the future.

[hamiltongrad]

BUSH IS A HAPPY MAN !
Thank you Fiji, You are right and concise ! Bush was ( is ) too liberal. That is why I do not think that he is too upset about the Dem victory, in that he can now have "family values" at the border, and so you can see AMNESTY pass, and more "workers" here, also their closest relatives (like distant aunts and 2nd cousins) ( thanks to Teddy) getting a pass here, benefits like health care,and social security benefits, while we working stiffs pay, and pay,and pay. Unless you are corporate guy with pretax dollars to buy insurance protection for you ! LUCKY GUYS

And forget about the "fence" IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN !. HA HA HA . Are you kidding ! ( 100/1 odds on that one, ANYONE ? I will bet real pesos !) ( Chico Marx "That was a good one Boss!)

More gov't give a ways , more expansion of medicare drug and all pediatric care on the way. More workers for big business displacing American middle class.
There will not be any impeachment or hearings, because Bush will willingly cave to the Dem on all fronts. He is happy ! LET'S ALL BE HAPPY ! (sung to the tune, He's a jolly good fellow:
"HE's a HAPPY HAPPY BUSH !"
Foreign policy will not see us get really serious about the war, unless ( God forbid) we are attacked at home with something catastrophic.

[fiji651]

Hamiltongrad - belay my last - was meant for Pakaal

obviously

[fiji651]

Uhhhh - hamilton grad

The newly elected congress was not a vote on Liberalism it was a vote of conservatisim if you will look at each states initiative.

Yes - Bush was too liberal!!!!!

I'm afraid the Libs now in power are clueless and ******** bricks because all they know was how to bring down a President and the administration for 6 years. Now they actually have to fight an enemy who dosn't care which political office is in charge. Be careful what you wish for...

[radmoddem]

The results of Tuesday's election mean that the political process is alive and well. However, lest Dems get too excited, it's time to come up with plans to solve our energy and health care problems, restore integrity in the government, and create an image of America througout the world of a nation that leads by example not by the use of force based on lies and deceit.

If they fail to lead, it will be time to go to Plan B...throw them all out by committing to never voting for an incumbent again (regardless of party) and having a serious debate over the merits of term limits. Interestingly enough, I heard a "talkie" on liberal radio say that the great thing about the change on Tuesday is that lots of new blood is coming to Washington in January. Wouldn't it be great to be guaranteed new Representatives and Senators every eight or twelve years by limiting House members to four terms and the Senate to two terms?

[trueprogress]

Every day, every day there is shelling from Gaza into civilian centers of Israel !! This has not stopped. If people in Gaza have been killed as Is. is protecting its citizen, who do they blame but themselves for electing the barbarian Hamas to lead them.
Remember, Is. moved out of all of Gaza for peace, And what happened ?

[pakaal]

"we should still monitor and "take out" ( Just as the Israeli do in Gaza) the enemy. This goes for Pakistan and Syria."

Take out the enemy like Israel just did the other day, killing 18 civilians 'by accident' as Olmert puts it?

And why Pakistan and Syria? Why did we abandon the effort in Afghanistan, where we left Bin Laden? I think before we jump into two new wars we should finish the first one, catch the guy who killed almost 3,000 American civilians, and get out of the second so Iraq can start rebuilding without our interference in their (as Bush put it) Democratic government.

[j-whitman]

Talk about defunding the Troops,,, Bush slashing budgets,, Tax Cuts,, WAR PROFITEERING -- DEFUNDS OUR TROOPS

[pakaal]

Winstrv, why would you want the Dems to defund the troops? That would put them in further danger. Oh that's right, you want the Dems to look bad - I hope you're not saying you want them to look bad at the cost of their lives, 'cause hoping for our troops to be killed makes you look really evil.

And I'd point out that the only people talking about the Democrats defunding the military seem to be people like O'Reilly the other night, and Republicans wanting the Dems to look weak. I haven't heard of any Democrats suggesting we do so - or maybe someone here can tell me which Democrats are saying this?

[gslinger3]

Democrats say they want to have our troops come home and had that as one of their campaign issues. Now that they are the majority, they can make that happen. All they have to do is not approve the funding for the war. Let us see if they will keep their campaign promise.


If the Dems want to cut and run before the deal is finished then go ahead, history though will put the blame square on them for failure, so will the voters in 2008!

[trueprogress]

One sure thing: There will never be a Fence at the Mexican Border Now. Too many Democratic voters are on their way, and for Bush, more cheap labor for his big business pals.


THE BORDER FENCE IS DEAD

[firststate]

If you go back over the posts over the last several pages, the tone changed from name-calling to civil discussion. When we talk with each other, instead of spouting slogans, it%u2019s easier to remember that we are all Americans first.

Healthcare providers%u2019 billing methods are one problem. When my Mom went to doctors, they billed a rate much higher than the Medicare approved amount. I was told that they could deduct the difference between the %u201Cregular%u201D rate and the %u201Capproved%u201D rate. If that is true, why? I know that an uninsured individual is billed more by a hospital than an insurance company is billed for the same services. A recent short hospital stay was billed to me after a problem verifying my insurance during a weekend ER admission. They billed me as %u201Cself pay%u201D for $13,600. After they confirmed the insurance, they sent a corrected bill for $4,500 for those services. A person who can%u2019t afford insurance should have to may 3 times what an insurance co pays???

Finally a comment about cutting the funding for the military. Short answer, NO. I would like nothing more than to have our military never to have gone into Iraq 3, but cutting off the funding would leave our brave men and women stuck. The logistics and security problems for getting them out without being killed as they leave will be as complex as putting them there was. They can%u2019t just call a timeout and leave.

[doodlebug35]

The Dem., have their work cutout for them! What a mess! Bush and the other fools,have made it almost impossible, to bring us back!But they can do it! Thanks, too the people of the U.S.A.

[bellal-2009]

man,this stuff blows me away. It's really interesting.

[radiob-2009]

bellaL you are welcome I have shortened answers not to bogg anyone down with all the complexities.Currently for example there are several US corporations that are getting tax breaks for building roads in Europe.These are not toll roads and are not an investment,yet they get the tax break at our expense.The same goes for corporations that have moved overseas this actually started about 30 years ago under Ford and the congress at the time.There they are making a dollar and escaping taxation on the goods sold in the US.There are far more loopholes for corporations than for the American citizen.There is one that is common and that is foreign investment.Buy 100 shares of SAP a german company and you can write off a portion of the investment and any profit that you make.The tax system is encouraging more foreign investment by the methods I just mentioned thatn investing in the US.You cannot do the same with 100 shares of an American company.If you start a business you are limited by the amount of dollars you can write off in a single year.Do the same overseas with a LLC or Class B corporaton and you have a windfall of tax breaks.

[radiob-2009]

Winstrv you cannot cut off funding for the war because alot of the funding goes to our troops and our equipment.You can cut off funding to the Iraqis and reconstruction but I do not see that producing positive results on our troops or the Iraqi civilians who are not attacking one another.Iraq requires more diligent thought and a better plan to rid itself of its own corruption and collaboration at every level with terrorsit,insurgents and militias.

[bellal-2009]

Amazing. Thank you Radiob, that explains a lot.

[radiob-2009]

A friend of mine about 8 years ago had made $50000 and had paid $8000 in federal taxes.He thought he would be okay with a wife,kids and a house.Yet when it came time to do his taxes he initially took them to H&R Block for cost and wghat he thought was going to be a quick return.H&R did his taxes and instead of getting a refund he found out he was owing money because his deductions exceeded the threshold and he hit the AMT tax.Most people do not hit this unless they make $67000 however if your deductions exceed 50% of your AGI then you can fall into the AMT tax which is higher and has never been adjusted for inflation.Bill brought his taxes to me I explained the reasoning and suggested that he drop some deductions,not something I would normally do.In turn Bill got a refund of $400 dollars.Not much of a refund but it beat paying $1500 in additional taxes.I did not charge him as he is a close friend.He has ever since had me do his taxes and has never been audited.The tax code is too complex and needs serious trimming.

[radiob-2009]

A flat tax in what sense? One that taxes every purchase at a fixed rate or one that taxes income at a flat rate?Is either fair to the lower class or the middle class?Currently the tax code is complex and every year I have to take classes on it,it is an extremely complicated system with tax write offs that are an insult to Americans.I have been a CPA for 10 years,I became tired of working in machine shops not knowing if I was going to walk out alive.A flat tax for corporations or just individuals?I do not beleive a flat tax that does not provide deductions for mortgages,medical bills,and college credits is a good idea.I would have to see the complete proposal and give it careful study.The current tax laws need trimmed and foreign investments should not be a deduction.The tax breaks that have been given to corporations to move overseas would have to be repealed and tariffs on foreign goods would have to be imposed.Currently China escapes the tariffs along with a great number of countries who have signed the WTO yet they tax(tariff) our goods.

[bellal-2009]

I wish I was an accountant, radiob. I stuble and bumble through it. Your daughter picked a great profession. What do you think of a flat tax? The tax code is so complex.

[bellal-2009]

jhindson, my insurance co is probably out over a million on us, as well. And you know, I actually feel guilty about that and it's a giant corp!!! The way to reconcile the inequality and absurdity is to buy the stocks of these corp. in retirement fund. It's the American way, i guess.